


I'm Yours

by lorene



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Carey and P.K. flirt a little, Established Relationship, M/M, Slow burn for Alex and Brendan, a capella AU, singing au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-06-07 18:38:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6819568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lorene/pseuds/lorene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You know, it probably bothered me more than it should have when he implied I wanted to get fucked by you, I mean, we all know that it would be the other way around.”, Carey teased.</p><p>PK turned to lay on his side and eyed him, “Oh no, don't tell me you're having a gay crisis that you can't handle too.”</p><p>Carey chuckled, “I don't think so, but if I do I will make sure to come to you.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One.

**Author's Note:**

> Revised this story, changed it around and now I'm re-posting. Think of them as a Straight No Chaser-esque kinda group. The songs mentioned in this story are real SNC songs. Not beta'd so if there any any mistakes or typos, please let me know!!

Carey was always the first one to arrive at practice. It's not even like he's one of those people has to be twenty minutes early to everything- it's just that everyone else is always  _ late _ . 

  


He guesses that it's expected; being that the group is made up of a bunch of twenty something year old college guys that don't have a ton of responsibilities to deal with or a ton of bills to pay and for the most part haven't matured fully yet. 

Carey liked to think of himself as the responsible one though- he is  _ always on time _ for practices.  


  


The auditorium they were currently using was in a run down building that used to be part of a school a few years back. Sure, there was the occasional mouse or two and that _just might be_ mold starting to form by the window but it had a pretty decent stage to use and the rent is cheap.

He made his way to the stage and hopped up on the wooden floor of the stage to sit. Dangling his legs over the edge, he shoved his earphones in to replay the song they've been working on recently.  


  


Usually for practices, they would meet at someone's house but with the Harmony Sweepstakes festival just a good three weeks away, Carey thought they should get comfortable with the idea of performing on a stage. Harmony Sweepstakes was a huge annual festival for all a Capella groups in the area to compete; ultimately for ten thousand dollars. The festival was being held in Quebec City this year and it would be their first year competing as a new group.  


There were ten other a Capella groups that were supposed to be competing along with them. The festival was three days long so each day, each group got to perform one song, so they had to have three songs in total. At the end of each day, the audiences voted for whichever group they enjoyed the best. On that last day of the festival, the votes would be counted and whoever got the most votes would win the grand prize.  


  


Entering the competition was all PK's idea, leave it up to him to get everyone else all psyched up about something Carey wasn't even sure they could pull off, to be honest.  


  


Carey was a realist. While he knew they had a great group and a great thing going on, A Capella was really something that got started a year ago- well, for fun. It hadn’t gotten serious until only a few months ago when they actually started taking this seriously and were meeting up for practices five days a week.

  


He rummaged through his backpack for his phone, scrolling up and down on the touchscreen, contemplating if he should call PK or not. With his thumb hovering over the call button, he quickly decided that a text would be more effective. PK was weird and hated talking over the phone.

  


_ ‘when r u gonna be here?’ _

  


Not even a minute later, he got a response from the other man. 

  


_ ‘rode w chucky today, you know how that goes’ _

  


Carey sighed and was glad he didn't ever have to carpool with Alex. Not only is he generally just a bad driver, he's a  _ slow _ driver. 

  


He tapped his foot against the floor to his music he had been listening to and decided to try and give Max a call. Before he could find his name on in his contact, the front doors were being pushed open and in sauntered Max.  


  


“Damn, you're good. I was just going to call you.”, Carey greeted.

  


“Why are you always here so early, don't you have a life?”

  


Max flinched when the other man threw an abandoned crumpled piece of paper that was on the floor, at his head.

  


“Hey, hey now. No need to be so angry.”

  


“For your information, _I'm_ not early-”

  


As if on cue, PK and Alex walked in. “Oh looks who's finally here, we've been waiting long enough.”, Max commented. Carey rolled his eyes at him and nodded his head at PK.  


  


“So I see Chucky managed to not kill you.” 

  


PK hopped up on the stage and sat next to him. He shrugged his shoulders, “I swear, it gets worse and worse every time.”

  


“So Gally will be a little late, apparently his apartment actually flooded-”, Max announced. 

  


“ _Ohhh_ here we go. He always comes up with the lamest excuses.”  Alex interrupted, with an annoyed look on his face. “It's not fair that we’re always waiting around on him and you guys let him off the hook.”

  


_ ‘ _ **_I'm_ ** _ the one who's always waiting on everybody else’  _ Carey fought the urge to point out, pressing his lips together in a thin line.

  


They’ve all known each other for a few years now, but Alex was only brought into the group a year ago when he and PK became roommates. Apparently they had known each other from a class they shared and became good friends before eventually becoming roommates. But Carey always thought Alex was a bit of an outsider as he never seemed to really be super close to any of them except for PK. Then there was the fact that he was a bit of a sarcastic, arrogant douche.  He always had something to say about everything and was especially douche-y to Brendan. Carey didn't like that, it was a wonder how the other boys could tolerate it.

  


He had always had a soft spot for Gally, thought of him as the younger brother he never had. Maybe it was because Brendan was the youngest of the group or the fact that he still got excited to drink chocolate milk like a little kid. Maybe the fact that was Gally was undoubtedly the most upbeat positive and happiest person he knew. No matter what, he was always  _ so happy _ . At least Brendan was oblivious to it, or was fantastic at acting like it didn't bother him. 

  


“As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted-” Max gave a pointed look over to Alex, who was on his phone ignoring the other man, “Gally will be late, and in case you guys forgot, Eller is flying back in today. I think his plane lands at five, so obviously he's going to miss practice again.”

  


Lars was in Holland visiting some family, he’d only been gone for a week but had missed three meetups so far. PK smirked, “I know you guys are still a “new couple” and all but it creeps me out how you sometimes call your boy by his last name.” 

  


Max picked up the crumpled piece of paper Carey had thrown at him earlier and chucked it at PK. “Shut up.”, he said half heartedly. 

  


After a few more minutes of messing around, Gally finally showed up. He was wearing basketball shorts that came below his knee so there was no actual evidence of any type of flood but his face was flushed and he was out of breath.

  


“Sorry guys!” He exclaimed in a rush. “It was just a mess, I had didn't know what to do so I called my mom and she told me to call a plumber and I don't know any plumbers so I had to look one up and the first one I called wanted to charge waayyy to much so-”

  


“No need to hurt yourself Gally.”, PK mused. Carey clapped his hands together, “Alright let's get started?”

  


“I can't believe Harmony Sweepstakes is only  _ three _ weeks away, it’s crazy.”, PK said. Brendan smiled and tapped Carey on the knee, "What are we singing today, Car?”

  


Carey glanced at Alex. He was still on his phone, most likely not listening to anyone.

  


“I wanna go over the ‘I’m Yours/Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ mashup, it still needs some minor tweaking.” 

  


That made Alex’s head snap up real quick. 

  


This particular song was Carey’s favorite and he loved singing it but despite any  _ issues _ he had with Alex; he thought Alex sounded the best singing it. He had a soft singing voice, that fit the song's tone better than Carey's did. 

He could tell from the first time he suggested Alex sing the main vocals for this song, he got uncomfortable. He  _ knew  _ the other man didn't think of himself as a strong lead, that's why he often wanted to stick with backup vocals with Lars and Brendan.

  


“Why? I thought we were going with ‘Under the Bridge’ as our first song?”, Alex demanded.  


  


“We are- but we need to finish this one if we want to use it at Sweepstakes.” Carey answered lamely. 

  


Okay. Maybe he got a bit of satisfaction in making Chucky squirm. 

  


The two men just stared at each other. Alex’s eyes practically burning holes through Carey’s head. PK looked back and forth between them and jumped in, “I have to agree with Pricey on this one. We shouldn't stall on it anymore .”

  


A smile crept up on Carey’s lips as he pulled his notebook that had all his notes in it and said, “So, let's get started then?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


Harmony Sweepstakes was only a week away now and Max was sitting at his small kitchen island, booking the hotel rooms online for the festival. Quebec City was about six or seven hours away, and the festival lasts three days so he wanted to make sure the had rooms in advance.  


  


“Is it me or have hotel rates gone up so much lately?”, he observed aloud, shaking his head when he heard Lars walk into the room.  

  


The other man glanced at him with a small smile on his face, “It’s just you, I actually think you might be losing it..” He answered. Lars just came back from his run, he was shirtless and Max could see a gleam of sweat on his clavicle.

  


The blond came up behind where Max was sitting to look at his laptop screen, not quite touching him but standing close enough. Max was well aware that he was face level with the other man’s lower stomach. 

  


“Ha-ha your so funny.” 

  


The dark haired man got up quickly to avoid any skin contact with Lars’s bare stomach. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water for himself. The pair had known each other the longest out of the group; close to four years, but they've only been  _ together _ for two months. 

  


The thing is- it was a strange. Being in a new relationship with someone who's been your best friend for  _ four years. _  He was still trying to adjust to the fact that they were  dating __ now and it was okay to do stuff like be _touchy-feely_ and _coupley_ , it was clear that Lars had.  


  


They both pretty much already knew everything about each other already, so it's not like Lars was someone  _new_ that he was in the process of getting to know-but he was still  hesitant about the physical side of their relationship. Lars was no stranger to all of this as he came out to everyone shortly after the met and has had boyfriends in the past but it took Max a good  _ four years _ before he could even admit to  himself __ that he might have fallen for his best friend- let alone another man.  


  


Lars snatched the water bottle from Max’s hands to swallow a few gulps before holding it back out for the dark haired man. Max just watched him.

  


“You know what I just noticed? You always have to have the first sip of whatever I'm drinking. That's a little obsessive, Eller.”, he observed. 

  


“And you know what I just noticed? Ever since we started dating, you keep calling me by my last name. That's a little weird,  _ Max _ .”

  


“Did PK bring that to your attention? Or did you just really notice that?”, Max asked, sitting back down at the table. “Just wondering.”

  


Lars shook his head, but he wore a small grin on his face. “No.. I just noticed. But you never used to do that before.” He had a light tone to his voice but Max knew that he was being serious. 

  


“It’s not because we’re  _ together  _ now, right?”

  


Max crossed his arms defensively and furrowed his eyebrows. “What? No, I didn't even know I doing it to be honest, heh.”

  


Max was pretty sure some part of him still missed Lars as his best friend. If this  _ boyfriend _ thing for some crazy reason didn't work out, they would never get back the friendship they used to have back. That's never how it worked out with these types of things. A bigger part of him knows that he is crazy for the other man and wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

  


Max suddenly felt guilty, for making Lars question him like that.

  


He reached up and hooked his hand around the back of Lars’s neck and brought their lips together for a slow, chaste kiss. He felt Lars smile warmly against his chapped lips as he deepened the kiss and ran his free hand over the sweat dried skin on his back.

  


Lars pulled his face back and nodded to their bedroom. “I suppose you don't want to….?, he trailed off. Max moved his hand to cradle the blond’s flushed cheek and just looked at him with a gentle expression on his face.

  


“Yeah, I thought I’d at least try…”, Lars chuckled, but then paused for a moment and looked at him seriously "I can wait as long as you need. I really hope you know that.”

  


“I know…”, the dark haired man assured and leaned his head against his boyfriend's shoulder for a hug.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


  


Their last practice before the festival was not going well, to say the least for Carey. He had already been in a shitty mood that day. All the studying for finals was getting to him, there were essays that needed to be done yesterday and today in class, these girls that sat behind him would  _ not shut up _ so he developed a headache that wouldn't go away. 

  


He didn't really even want to show up to practice that day, but had a glimmer of hope that it would put him in a better mood.

  


After twenty minutes of waiting for everyone to show up- yet again, no one wanted to focus. They were supposed to finish revising their Im Yours/Somewhere Over the Rainbow compilation, which was almost finished.

  


“I give up.”, Carey angrily muttered to himself, rubbing his hands over his face and slumping in his seat when Gally decided to that this was the best time to tell everyone a much exaggerated story of how he managed to get this girl he’s had his eye on for a while now to agree to go out with him. Carey duly noted Alex’s facial expression falter the  _ slightest _ bit when Brendan started talking about it.

  


It was quickly covered up by another eye roll and the distraction of his phone. He stored that away in his brain for another time when he had the energy to think about that. 

  


“Oh come on Pricey, relax. You're starting to stress me out with how stressed out you are right now and I don't like being stressed out.”, PK sighed, folding his hands over the back of his head and leaning back in his chair so he was lounging in it. Carey stared at him, suddenly very tired. 

  


“Let's grab a beer later, yeah?”, he added. 

  


“You're paying.”, Carey agreed a minute later. PK grinned and went back to listening in on Brendan's story. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  


It wasn't storming anymore, it had been earlier but the rain let up and left the night sky gloomy depressing.

  


Carey shuddered from the sharp chill of the air before climbing into his car and starting it for some heat. He waited for PK in the car as he was saying goodbye to everyone.  _ Why do you need to say bye, we’re going to see each other in like two days? _

  


Carey asked him minutes before.

  


It was around nine pm when they finally decided where to go. PK insisted on going to this one sports bar that apparently had really good nacho platter. 

  


“Your boy’s gotta eat.” PK said excitedly when the bartender set the platter down on the counter.

  


Carey had to admit, the smell of it made his mouth water. He hadn't had much to eat all day, his stomach was starting to growl.

  


“Maybe I should try it first, you know to check for poison.”

  


PK smacked his hand away from the plate so Carey tried again and the third time he did it, PK finally said “Ugh, fine. This is your side and this is my side.” drawing an imaginary line with his finger; PK’s side being much bigger. Carey shot him an innocent smile when he darted over to PK’s side of the plate to grab a nacho that had everything on it.

  


“You are just-”

  


“Be faster next time, huh?”

  


PK shook his head. “So... how are you?” 

  


Carey snorted, “What?”

  


“Don't “what” me.  I can't ask my friend how he's doing?” 

  


“Ha. Today was just annoying. I’m beyond stressed with my classes and it doesn't help when no one wants to participate in practice. If we fuck up at Sweepstakes, it's not my fault you know.”

  


Carey then paused as he remembered the look Alex had on his face earlier when Gally was telling his story, then added “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you. What beef does Chucky have with Brendan now?” 

  


PK finished off his beer and wiped his mouth. “What beef doesn't he have with Brendan at any time?”, his eyes wide. Carey crunched on a tortilla chip, then asked, “Does he tell you things? I mean; he  _ is _ your roommate. There must be times when he actually tells you things.  _ Right _ ?”

  


“Sure.”, he shrugged.  “He tells me lots of things-”, PK looked up at the other man. “What, you mean like whatever is going on with him and Gally?” 

  


Carey nods and decided to prod more when PK stalls a bit as if he were deciding what to say. 

“You know something and you're not telling me!” 

  


“Look- I may or may not have an idea on why Alex is the way he is BUT, it’s not my place to tell you Pricey.”, PK explained sweetly. Careys’ eyebrows shot up, “So you  _ do  _ know something. Hmmm, interesting. I’m going to get you to tell me sooner or later.”

  


The other man looked down at the now empty plate and sighed. “I’m tired, take me home.” 

  


Carey eyed him as PK pulled out his wallet and slapped a few bills on the table.

  


As they were walking back to the car, PK stopped him with hand on his shoulder. “Listen, I’m serious when I say this. Alex is...going through some shit right now and he’s just...confused with a lot of things. All im saying is don't be an ass to him, okay? 

Carey studied his face, under the moonlight.  _ Did PK always have such long eyelashes? _ , he thought to himself. He cleared his throat, “Yeah okay...come on- let's get you home.” As they pulled into PK’s driveway, Carey put a hand on PK’s arm. “Thanks for the drink.. And for your food.” PK chuckled at that.

  


“Anytime, Car. Anytime”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At seven am sharp, the boys all met up at PK and Chucky’s place with all their belongings that they would need for the next few days. The early morning sun was creeping down on Max’s neck as he packed the car. He inwardly cringed at the thought of the six hour drive they had ahead of them, he was not a morning person. Apparently Alex was though. He was uncomfortably cheerful and giddy for seven in the morning on a Wednesday for Max's taste.

  


Chucky stepped off the porch where he was seemingly enjoying the cool crisp air that turned his cheeks pink.

  


“Do’ya want me to do it instead?”, he asked offering to help with the rest of the duffels. Max  _ swore _ saw a hint of a smile on his face. 

  


“Uh yeah sure…” He said standing back, “Hey where’d you get that?” Max asked pointing to the muffin Alex was holding. 

  


“Oh, I made them earlier. They’re keeping warm in the oven if you want one. Or at least I  _ told  _ PK to put them back in the oven. Knowing him, they were probably left out.”, Alex said.

  


“They’re blueberry.”, he added with a shrug.

  


Max jokingly asked, “Do you do that-” he gestured towards the perfectly golden muffin “often?” Now that he thought about it though, every time he’s been over to their place, they always had some kind of pastry or dessert tray displayed out. He had thought they always just bought a lot of sweets.

  


He remembered one time when Lars came home with a tubberware of chocolate chip coconut cookies saying that PK was forced on him to take because they had so many. Those were some damn good cookies though.

  


Alex took a minute to answer, loading up the last of the luggage. When he slammed the trunk shut, he tore the muffin in half, holding it out to the other man as an offering. 

  


“So what, I like to bake. Are you going to take it or not?”, he deadpanned.

  


“Alex Galchenyuk likes to bake blueberry muffins in his spare time...wow I never thought I’d say that.”, Max laughed off and took the half muffin. Chucky responded by punching him in the arm as he walked past him and into the house.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


After Lars and PK wasted a good ten minutes arguing about who should drive, they were finally on the road.  


  


Alex was sitting in the very back of the car, with his earphones in and sunglasses on. If he was going to be stuck in a car for seven hours max with these guys, he was sure as hell going to be prepared. Two hours later, he was just starting to doze off but suddenly jolted awake when he felt one of his earphones being yanked out of his head. 

  


“What the fuck”, he snapped, blinking furiously to get his eyes to focus. PK was just smirking at him. Alex looked out the window, it looks like they had pulled over to get gas.

  


PK  gestured to the convenience store, “You want anything?” he asked still smirking. 

  


“I was sleeping you asshole and that hurt.”, Alex grumbled.

  


“I’ll take that as a no.”

  


Alex sat up straight, his back hurting because of how slouched over he was  and stretched his legs as much as he could in the car. He could actually go for something to drink so he climbed his way up and over the seats to get to the side door; trying to avoid accidentally kneeing Max in the head- although he wasn't really trying  _ that  _ hard to avoid it because Max had been bitching and complaining the whole time so far. 

  


_ Thank god for earphones. _

  


He heard a sleepy sounding voice ask, “Chucky, can you get me some chocolate milk in there?”, 

  


He turned his head to see Brendan comfortably cuddled up to a pillow. He looked absolutely ridiculous, with his black athletic spandex pants and oversized grey pullover that had the Canadian flag on it; his hair was a bit messed up from said pillow and he didn't even open his eyes to look at Alex when he asked.

  


His heart sweetly fluttered against his will. He muttered a quick “yeah” and starting making his way into the convenience store where it didn't take long to find PK standing in the chip aisle, sipping from a cup of gas station coffee. 

  


PK glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, “Max said he wanted some chips, which ones should I get?” 

  


“It's nine in the morning and he wants this crap? It must be that time of the month for him, jesus.”, Alex waved his hand down the aisle. PK shrugged, “The heart wants what it wants Chuck.” Then after a beat he added, “You of all people should know that.”

  


Alex rolled his eyes and shuffled past him towards the section of the store where all the drinks were. He grabbed the first energy drink he saw and went to pay.

  


“Speaking of the heart wants what it wants, I bet you popped a boner when you saw Gally all cuddled up to his pillow like that.” Alex overheard PK chirp as they both waited at the counter to pay for their things.

  


_ Chocolate milk,  _ he remembered.

  


Alex proceed to ignore the other man and spinned back around to get the milk. He scanned his options before landing his eyes on the bright yellow, obnoxious looking label which he recognized as Brendan's preferred brand. 

  


Not that he cared which one he picked out for Brendan or anything.

  


He payed for the drinks and went back to the car where Lars (who ended up driving) was pumping the gas. 

  


Alex paid no mind to PK raising his eyebrows at him when he saw the chocolate milk he was carrying and threw the bottle of milk at Brendan's feet as he proceeded to the back of the van.

  


Gally’s eyes were still closed, so he had no idea if he was even awake still. 

  


Carey offered to switch with Lars and was now driving so that left Lars in the passenger seat, Alex couldn't hear what they were saying from the back but Lars looked to be messing around with the radio station while Carey was jokingly pretending to punch him.

  


Brendan was sprawled out on the first bench while PK and Max were on the second bench in front of Alex. While he watched PK try annoy Max even further, he settled back in the seat and looked out the window and tried  _ very  _ hard not to think about how over sized his own pullovers would be on Brendan. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


“But I  _ really  _ have to go, this is an emergency!”, Brendan screeched. Carey really didn't want to make yet  _ another  _ stop, they were only one more hour away from Quebec City. The whole car was practically rocking with how hard Gally was bouncing around trying to contain himself.  


  


“Carey, I will pee in here if you don't stop right now!”

  


“Dammit Carey, just pull over!”, Max snapped irritatedly and went back to his resting his head against the window. Carey looked over at Lars with a smug look and Lars just looked back at his boyfriend with an amused look on his face.

  


They pulled over the best they could on the forest lush highway. It was a narrow road, so the van took up some space but he hasn't seen any cars pass them in a while, so they were probably good parked there for a few minutes.

  


Brendan rushed out of the van, almost tripping over his pillow that was creased in half and hazardly thrown on the floor and Carey watched Brendan as he skipped over to the nearest tree. “It's all that damn chocolate milk.”, he heard PK mutter from the back, which made Carey snort. 

  


They all sat there for a few minutes; waiting when Alex broke the silence, “Should’a just let him piss his pants…”

  


Lars cackled loudly as stretched his arms in front of him. “There's a reason why no one is sitting back there with you, man.”

  


He looked back at Max to see how he was holding up, the other man was glaring out the window now with his elbow resting on the windowsill. 

  


The blond turned in his seat so he was facing Carey and kept looking back to the darker haired man, trying to catch his eye. 

  


“Aww, he’s so cute when he’s mad.”, Lars raised his voice so everyone could hear. 

  


“ _ So cute… _ ”, Alex mimicked in a high pitched voice.

  


Carey tapped his hands on the steering wheel, starting to get impatient. He called out to Gally “Come on!”

  


He vaguely heard Brendan shout back something unintelligible. 

  


“Seriously what’s he doing, looking for toilet paper?”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	2. Two.

When they finally arrived to their hotel, it was around twelve-thirty in the afternoon. The first day of the festival was tomorrow but they weren’t due to their performance until the second day of the festival.

 

“At least we made good time. Drive could have been worse”, Brenden offered when he and Max were standing at the counter to check in. Max was handling their reservations with the receptionist while Gally stood there like he was keeping him company. The rest of the guys were in the waiting room.

 

Max raised an eyebrow at him but couldn't help but chuckle at that. “I'm just happy to be out of that car. Guess ‘m not much of a road trip person.” 

 

“Nah, you weren't that bad. You know, I'm surprised Chucky wasn't the one throwing the bitch fit.”, Brendan laughed.

 

“Okay, number one I did not throw a  _ bitch fit _ . Number two, I'm actually surprised he wasn't that bad either.”

 

The receptionist came back with the keys for their rooms. After he thanked her, the pair made their way to the waiting area. “Did you know Alex  _ bakes _ ?”, Max questioned.

 

Gally raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “You're lying.”, an amused smile forming on his face.

 

“No seriously! Like he bakes muffins and shit…!”

 

The two shared a laugh as they made their way to the lobby. Since the hotel expenses were coming out of their pocket, Max booked three rooms. Obviously, he and Lars were sharing a room so he handed the other two keys to Brendan and motioned to Lars so they could find their room.

 

Before Brendan could register it, PK snatched one of the keys out of Gally’s hand and dragged Carey by his arm towards the elevators. 

 

_ Shit. _

 

Brendan and Alex stood there for a minute awkwardly. Eventually Alex rolled his eyes and shoved past him, bumping his shoulder, not bothering to look back and check if Brendan was following him. 

 

_ Well, this should be fun _ . 

 

Gally let a long sigh out and swung his duffel bag over his shoulder as he opted to take the stairs to their floor. They’d never spent time outside of practice alone so sharing a room for three days should be interesting. He and Alex weren’t really _close_ with each other the way the other guys were. 

 

He really wasn't sure why. He knew that Alex always had some sort of issue with him, it's not like that was a secret- but Brendan didn't think that he ever gave Alex a reason to have one and he wasn't the confrontational type so he was fine with ignoring it most of the time. Besides, Chucky was dick to everyone. Sometimes Brendan had to remind himself not to take it so personally.

  
  


When Brendan reached the end of the hallway that led to their room, he could see Alex sitting on the ground leaning against the door.

 

“Took you long enough. Hurry up, I want to put my shit away.”, Chucky urged.

 

“Alright, alright.”, Brendan sped up, tossing the key to Alex when he was close enough. As soon as he opened the door, the taller man stopped in his tracks.

 

“Oh what the fuck.”

 

Brendan came up behind him and nudged him to move so he could see what Alex was complaining about. It was a nice room, simple looking and surprisingly roomy. All was good, the only issue is that instead of two twin beds, there in the middle of the room sat one big queen sized bed. Chucky was already out the door, most likely to go complain to Max even though it was probably just an honest mistake. Still, he tossed his bag on the bed and grabbed the remote to see what was on TV.

 

He didn't mind that there was only one bed, he could share. He just felt bad for Max, who would probably never hear the end of it.

 

A few minutes later, Max walked cautiously into their room, Alex hot on his heels and looked around. He put his hands on his hips. “Sooo...what's wrong with it?”

 

Alex furrowed his eyebrows, “Where's the other bed?!” He pointed to where Brendan was now casually lounging in it, hands folded behind his head. 

 

“Oh, yeah- they didn't have any rooms with double beds available when I booked them so everyone got singles. I thought I mentioned that? Did I not?”, Max wondered aloud.

 

“ _ I thought I mentioned that, did I not? _ ”, Alex mimicked. “I’m not sharing a bed with him.”, he added. Brendan just smiled. 

 

“Well, looks like you're going to be sleeping on the floor then Chuck.”, Max resorted, clapping his hand on his shoulder on his way out. 

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m just saying it’s bullshit. The beds not even that big, Max. You could have picked a different hotel, I would have  _ gladly  _ paid extra as long if it meant I wouldn't have to share the same bed with him.”

Alex hadn't stopped complaining about the bed situation since. Max already apologized twice, and since the hotel didn't have any double bed rooms available they were kinda stuck with what they had.

 

“You know you're not the only one who has to share a bed, Chucky.”, PK pointed out. They were walking to this little Mexican place a few blocks from the hotel they found when on the search for somewhere to eat.

 

“Yeah, get the fuck  _ over  _ it already. Gally’s right here and you're being a dick about it.”, Carey snapped. All day these two had been going back and forth, being passive aggressive with each other. Right now, Chucky looked like he could go all night with this but Carey looked like he was at his wits end with Alex. Brendan observed but stayed quiet and continued to walk wit his head down. Lars and Max were a few steps ahead of them, having their own conversation, not paying attention to the four other men.

 

“Well of course you wouldn't care about having to share a bed with PK, you would take any chance you could get to convince him to fuck you in the ass like a little  _ bitch _ .”, Alex spat back harshly and  _ loudly _ . He stood there and waiting for Carey’s reaction.

 

Lars and Max stopped and turned back to wait for the others to catch up, but Brendan could tell that they had heard that last part.

 

They all fell silent for a few beats, not knowing what to say to that. 

 

Lars quickly resorted, “What’s  _ that  _ supposed to mean, Alex.” 

 

“Come on, Chucky that wasn't cool.”, said PK quietly.

 

None of them had ever made any sort of gay comments like that, even if it was a joke. Especially now, with Lars and Max; they never wanted to make the pair feel like it they weren’t accepted. 

 

Lars shook his head and with raised eyebrows, pointed at Alex, “We-”, he started, gesturing between him and Max. “-take offense to that. Don't be saying that kind of shit in front of us. That’s not cool, Alex. Seriously.” 

 

Alex just shrugged and looked away like it was no big deal. Carey clenched his jaw tightly. He just stared at Alex, shocked that he even made that accusation in the first place.  _ This _ was exactly why he didn't get along with the other man. He didn't care about anyone else but himself. He did and says whatever he wants, whenever he wants and he certainly didn't care if he hurt anybody’s else's feelings in the process.

 

Just thinking about it made Carey even angrier and set him off from there. He took a couple steps towards Alex and started shoving and pushing at him, making the other man react by doing the same. They both got a few scratches and slaps in before the others reacted. He vaguely heard one of them shouting “Hey, hey! Break it up! Stop it, stop it, stop it!”

 

Carey tried to make a grab for his shirt but was suddenly being held back by PK before it escalated too quickly. Max had rushed over and forced Alex to walk backwards until they had some distance between them.

 

He was still looking at Alex, who was breathing hard, staring back at Carey like all he wanted to do is run over that and knock him out. 

 

_ Good. _ Carey thought. He liked the fact that he could shake him up like that.  _ Someone had to do it. _

 

Lars was standing next to Gally, both of them looking concerned. Gally cleared his throat in an attempt to break the tension. “Okay guys, let's just all relax. We can't be doing that in public. It’s over with alright?”, he pleaded, clearly uncomfortable. 

 

They got to the restaurant without any more altercations. PK took Alex with a hand at the back of his neck so they could walk ahead. While Lars, Brendan and Max stayed back with Carey asking him what had happened. Carey could see PK’s head low, saying something to Alex. It looked like PK was still trying to calm him down. 

  
  


They found a table to sit at, Carey and Alex at opposite ends of the table.

 

“Anyways..”, Lars started.

 

“We’ll have to be at the festival around five to check in, so let's all be ready by then. I don't think we are supposed to go on until seven, so that gives us plenty of time to rehearse after we get there.”, Gally said after a few minutes of silence. 

 

“I have to admit, I’m a little nervous. I mean, I heard the people that come to see these shows are  _ tough _ .”, Max piped in.

 

“I think we’ll do just fine. I’m already thinking about what I will buy with my share of the money.”, PK said..

 

“Shit, I think I would just use it to pay off my student debt.”, Lars shrugged. 

 

“How  _ boring _ ...”, PK commented and looked at Carey, “What would spend it on, Pricey.” 

 

Carey was still stewing from the fight earlier. He just uttered an ‘I don't know’ and excused himself to the restrooms. 

 

He noticed how his skin was prickling uncomfortably from how heated he’d become so he splashed some water on his face as an attempt to cool off. The door swung open and he saw Max enter the bathroom. “Hey, you okay?”

 

“I’m all good, he’s sure is great at pissing me the fuck off..”

 

Max leaned against the sink next to him, “Yeah, I know.”, he sighed.

 

“You know that you and Lars are like my best friends, right? And you  _ know  _ that I don't give two shits if your together or not? Well, I mean, I  _ want  _ to see you together if that makes you happy. We all do!-”, Carey rambled on.

 

“Of course I know that, man. And I don't think that Alex intended that as dig towards us, I just don't think _ he was thinking _ , you know?”

 

“Whatever, I’m just so done with all his bullshit. I don't know why PK puts up with him.”

 

Max just gave him a sad smile and patted him on his back as he turned to leave. Carey stood there for a few more minutes, thinking about how it was such a random thing to say.

 

_ Where did that even come from?  _

 

He suddenly remembered that night at the bar with PK and how PK had told him that Alex was dealing with some personal issues. His mind then flashed back to the day when Brendan told everyone about his date with that girl and how miserable Alex looked. 

 

_ Was Alex.... in the closet?  _ Did he have a  _ crush _ on Brendan or something? And had PK known this whole time? Carey thought erratically. Oh, he was going to  _ kill _ PK.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That same night when they decided it was a good time to head back to the hotel, Carey remained cool and collected, but on the inside the anticipation was bubbling up in his stomach.

 

On their walk back, he walked a little slower than everyone but quickly enough to keep up. He watched on as Max gripped Lars’s forearm and lightly grazed his fingers down his arm until their hands joined together. Lars’s squeezed his boyfriend's hand and Carey made sure to glance at Alex discreetly to check if he was watching them too.

 

Sure enough, every now and then, Alex would sneak a glimpse at the couple but avert his eyes away just as quickly.  _ Wow _ , Carey thought.  _ Who would have thought. _

 

When they finally reached their hotel room, Carey shut the door and turned around to look at PK with comically wide eyes. PK just looked weirded out. 

 

“What?”

 

“So when you gonna tell me Alex is stuck so far deep inside the closet that he’s going to need a bungee cord to pull him out?”

 

PK froze where he was, “Umm..”

 

Carey made a sound of triumph when his suspicions were now definitely confirmed. “I can't  _ believe  _ you kept this from me! Do you know how much this explains!”

 

“Ugh, you CANNOT tell anyone. If Chucky finds out you know, he will think  _ I  _ told you!”

 

Carey ignored him and continued, “And he’s in love with Gally too?! Does Gally know? How did he tell you?”

 

PK put his hands up as a ‘slow down’ gesture. “Carey, you have to  _ promise  _ me you won't tell anyone.  _ Please _ .”

 

“Okay, yeah I promise whatever but I need some answers here!”

 

Carey moved over as PK sat down on the bed across from him. “No one else knows about Alex being gay. He only admitted all of this to me a few months ago, so it’s not like I’ve known for that long.”, PK started.

 

“Apparently he’s been struggling with it for years now... but he’s so  _ hard  _ on himself and I guess he’d been denying his feelings for so long that one day he just completely broke down and told me everything. Then he told me when I introduced him to Gally, it just made it harder because he  _ knew  _ he was going to fall for him.”

 

Carey was confused, “Then why is he such an asshole to Gally? If he likes him so much? I don't get it.” 

 

“I think it’s more of a defense mechanism thing. I don't know, I think he thinks that if he’s an asshole to Brendan then he’ll magically get over him or something like that.”, PK explained as he scooted off the bed to go get ready to go to sleep, leaving Carey sitting there to ponder. 

 

When PK came back, he lightly shoved Carey to move so he could lay down. 

 

“You know, it probably bothered me more than it should have when he implied I wanted to get fucked by you, I mean, we all know that it would be the other way around.”, Carey teased.

 

PK turned to lay on his side and eyed him, “Oh no, don't tell me you're having a gay crisis that you can't handle too.”

 

Carey chuckled, “I don't think so, but if I do I will make sure to come to you.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, everything seemed to be back to normal again. Maybe it was the excitement they all had for Harmony Sweepstakes, after all, it was  _ finally  _ here. All the energy and time they put into this acapella group would pay off. Whether or not they won this thing, they all knew they had to remember to just have fun with this.

 

Looking around backstage, at some of the other groups that had either just performed or were waiting to go on, PK was starting to feel the butterflies in stomach. Brendan appeared beside him and gave him a nudge, “This is pretty cool, huh?”

 

He nodded and grinned for reassurance. They had made a last minute song change last night from ’Under the Bridge’ to a ‘Beggin/Counting Stars’ compilation they created, agreeing that there was more diversity the sound and with all their voices in this new song. Under the Bridge may have been too slow and chill of a song, their new song choice was more upbeat and should keep the audience interested.

 

The main vocals for the ‘Beggin/Counting Stars’ compilation would be Lars and Alex. He could only imagine how nervous Lars must be, as he  _ rarely  _ ever was a lead. He, Brendan and Max were the ones who did tenors, while Carey, PK and Alex for the most part, did backup vocals and sang as leads.

 

A few minutes before they were due on stage, they all had a quick go over to make sure everything was good. Alex took a deep breath, this would be the first time he performed in front people who weren’t his group; an actual  _ audience _ . “Ready for your big debut?”, Brendan joked. 

 

Chucky shook his head, and breathed out a genuine, “No.” If he messed up, it could ruin everything.  _ He  _ could ruin everything. 

 

“Hey-”, Brendan put a hand on his shoulder, “You're going to be amazing. Now come on, let's go out there and give these people a show, yeah?”

 

Alex couldn't breathe for a second as he made eye contact with Brendan. He had the biggest smile on his face, a gleam in his eyes and Alex could  _ feel _ how radiant he looked.

 

He couldn't help the smile he felt pulling on the corner of his lips and he  _ swore _ Brendan almost  _ beamed  _ because he was able to make the other man smile. 

 

Alex almost thought about telling Gally how amazing  _ he _ would be out there but was broken out of his thoughts a moment later, when the _ Les Habitants _ were called to the stage. He stole one last glance at the shorter man before Max was pulling them towards the entrance for the stage.

 

The lights on the stage were so bright, it probably blinded him a little but at least he couldn't see anyone in the audience, which made it a little less nerve wracking. He waited for Max to count off and willed his brain to stop thinking and started singing.

 

**1,2,3,4…**

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“I still can't get over how  _ amazing _ that was”, PK proclaimed, slightly out of breath. Back at the hotel, they were all hanging out in Max and Lars’s room, still coming off their adrenaline high from being up on stage. Brendan and PK were in the middle of a wrestling match around trying to prove to everyone who was stronger.  

Lars chimed in, “Yeah, once we got up there and stuff, I wasn't as nervous as I thought I’d be… but let's talk about how  _ fine my baby looked  _ tonight.”, he teased. He lightly shoved Max who was sitting right next to him on the bed, blushing profusely.

 

“ _ Lars.. _ ”, he protested. 

 

“Oh here we go, we better clear out before they start getting  _ too _ cute with each other.”, Carey commented, standing up for a second to stretch out. Max flipped him off and they all snapped their heads when they heard a loud crash on the other side of the room. 

 

PK held his hands up, “I didn't do it, I  _ swear _ !”

 

Brendan laid there on the ground with a expression on his face that said  _ oh shit.  _ One of them had pushed the other into the coffee table that moved and one of the corners of the table was now lodged in the wall. 

 

Lars sat there with his mouth hung open, and Max threw his hand up in the air exasperatedly. 

 

“Oh that's just  _ lovely _ ! Which one of you is going to pay for the damage now, huh?”

 

Brendan just looked a PK, who was now trying to slip out of the room quietly and failed when he tripped up over the rug and fell down.

 

“Oh that's it, okay everyone out. I’m not having this!”, Max said, pointing towards the door. 

 

Carey was practically  _ wheezing _ at this point with how hard he was laughing. 

 

PK got up back quickly like nothing happened and ran out of the room. 

 

A second later, he poked his head back in and added “Sorry, mom.” and ducked when Max chucked a pillow at his way.

 

Alex, who had been sitting on the bed watching this mess unfold, got up and clapped his hand on Max’s shoulder, “Well I guess it’s goodnight then...mom.”

 

Max swatted at him and pushed him towards the door. Lars was inspecting the hole that was now in the wall. He looked down at Gally, who hadn't bothered to get up from the floor yet. 

 

“It was really not my fault, PK pushed me!”, he cried. 

 

Max glanced at Carey, who had managed to calm down but his face was still red.

 

“Hey, I didn't see anything, don't look at me.”

 

Brendan finally managed to escape from room, not before getting a twenty minute lecture on how ‘ _ roughhousing always ended up with someone getting hurt or something getting destroyed  _ ’. 

 

He thought of how he would get back at PK tomorrow morning for ditching him as he knocked on the door to his own room, waiting for Alex to let him in. 

 

There was a clinking sound like the door had been unlocked from the inside but the door didn't actually open. “I’ll just let myself in then..”, Brendan said with a light tone. 

 

The lights were already off, making it hard to see where he was going. 

 

It was completely dark with the exception of the blue glare from the TV. Alex climbed back in bed, throwing the blankets over him as faced away from Brendan. He was shirtless- only wearing a pair of navy blue sweats which surprised Brendan. The night before, Alex refused to even sleep on the bed, let alone get comfortable and change out of his clothes.

 

Brendan only imagined how uncomfortable it was to sleep in the little armchair that was in the corner of the room. It just occurred to him that Alex might have expected him to sleep on the chair, he  _ really _ hoped that was not the case.

 

“Did you want the bed to yourself?”, Brendan asked warily. Alex peeked his head out from under the covers, “You can sleep here if you want.”

 

“Wow, that was easy. I was expecting to have to put up a fight.”, he breathed out a relieved laugh. He began pulling off his shirt, when Alex protested, “Woah, woah, woah. We’re going to  _ both _ shirtless? Put it back on.”

 

Brendan ignored his protest and responded with a grin, “Oh come on, it’s not like I’m taking off my pants.” and then just to see how far he push him he added, “Unless you want me to.”

 

“W-what, I don't want that - you're so dumb!”, Alex sputtered out, face turning red. Still grinning, Brendan climbed up to the other side of the bed that wasn't already occupied. 

 

“You're awfully flustered there.”

 

“Shut up and go to sleep, you already woke me up once.”, Chucky said, running his hands over the blankets to find the remote.

 

“Watch your hands there.”

 

Alex rolled his eyes knowing Brendan was watching him. Once he located the remote, he shut the TV off and laid back down facing away from Brendan. He did his best to ignore it but he could still feel Gally’s eyes on him. 

 

It was a little after one-thirty in the morning when Alex woke up again, his mouth was unbearably dry. He reached over to the nightstand to get his water bottle and his eyes roamed around the room before landing on the man next to him.

 

Brendan was curled into a fetal position, still facing Alex, as he’d left him. He was able to make out his face with the pale moonlight that shone through the curtains. His features; lax and his breathing was slow and steady. Hesitantly, Alex lifted his hand to fit the soft curve of Gally’s cheek, his thumb lightly rubbing over the skin. He imagined what it would be like to hover down and just press his lips-.

 

Suddenly, Brendan shifted a little and Alex lifted his hand away like it had been burned, heart beating fast and sat as still as could be waiting to see if Gally would wake up. 

 

He let out a relieved breath when Brendan only turned so he was on his back and kept on sleeping. Alex sighed and willed himself back to sleep, trying not to think about how soft the other man’s skin was.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alex woke up, once again, to the annoying sound of TV commercials.  _ Why was the tv turned up so loud _ , he thought grumpily. Gally was sitting up in the bed next to him, eyes glued to the screen. He turned the volume down when he felt Alex moving around and mutter a curse under his breath harshly. “Oh sorry, did I wake you?”, Brendan asked.

 

“Can you leave for a minute?”

 

Brendan turned his head to look at him, Alex was lying there on his stomach, pointing not looking at him. “Why, wha-” 

 

_ Oh. _

 

Alex kicked at him under the covers as best as he could and Brendan scooted off the bed. “Like you want me to leave the room? So you could...you know?”

 

“Gally, shut up and just go outside for a minute.”, Alex insisted, still not making eye contact with Brendan.

 

“I'm going! I guess I’ll just go see if Carey’s up.”, he decided. He grabbed a hoodie that was hanging over the back of the armchair and swung the door open.

 

He was well on his way to PK and Carey’s room, when he realized he had grabbed Alex’s hoodie. 

 

_ I should have noticed this was his, I’m practically swimming in this thing, _ he thought to himself. It was kinda Alex’s fault anyway for rushing him out of the room.

 

“I was kicked out my room by morning wood.”, Brendan announced with a grin when Carey opened his door. “It wasn't mine by the way.”, he added.

 

The other man just looked back at PK with raised eyebrows and they shared a series of expressions between them. 

 

Brendan looked back and forth at each of them and asked, “What?” 

 

PK gave Carey a firm look and went back to checking his phone. “Nothing, Gally.” 

 

He stepped inside the room and watched Carey, who was now shaking his head and walking into the bathroom to shower.  _ That was weird. _

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	3. Three.

The second song they planned to sing at the festival was another compilation of the two songs ‘Poison’ and ‘Billie Jean’. Alex was again, singing the main vocals, along with PK who was practicing his Michael Jackson dance moves he was going to do on stage. Whenever they rehearsed this particular song in the past, PK  _ always  _ insisted on bringing his MJ flare because “ _ you can't simply sing a Michael Jackson song and not throw in a crotch grab _ ”.  Alex was sitting down one of the couches that were placed throughout backstage and continued to watch PK, occasionally chirping him whenever the other man messed up his routine.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Carey tentatively approaching him. He tensed for a minute and grabbed his phone to pretend like he was busy. Carey just stood there for a second awkwardly, looking around before sitting down a cushion away from the other man.

 

“Hey.” 

 

Alex glanced at him, feeling itchy and uncomfortable. They hadn’t spoken since the night they got into a fight. It’s not like they were ever  _ best friends _ in the first place or anything so it was easy to avoid each other. 

 

And sure, they openly argued and disagreed with each other a lot before but they had never actually had a physical fight like that before.

 

“Hey.”, he muttered back still frowning at his phone. 

 

Carey shifted on the couch, “So, uh- listen. I wanted to apologize for the other night. I wasn't actually going to hit you or anything, really. You just took it too far.”

 

Alex pressed his lips together in a tight line. Yeah, he knew that probably shouldn't have said that. 

 

“Well, if you're apologizing then I guess I should too. So...sorry for saying you wanted that loser over there to fuck you in the ass like a little bitch.”

 

That made Carey laugh. He bowed his head down, smiling and then replied, “And I’m sorry for trying to give you a black eye because you thought PK would be the one doing all the work.”

 

Alex threw his head back and grinned. “At least we’re even. No hard feelings?”

 

Carey grinned back, and agreed, “No hard feelings.”

 

They got called to get ready to go on stage, so they both stood up and walked over to the others were. “Uh-oh, there better not be any fighting while we’re trying to perform out there, you hear?”, Lars chirped when he saw the pair walking together. 

 

Carey responded by throwing his arm over Alex’s shoulder. “Why would there be any fighting?”, he joked. They were finally announced on stage and group quickly switched gears and started out to the stage. 

 

It looked like they had an even bigger audience this time around, which was a good thing. The more people that voted, the more of a chance they had at winning. 

 

Lars began beatboxing to start the song and after a few seconds, the rest of the group followed  by singing their parts. 

 

_ “ _ _ Girl I must warn you.. _

_ I sense something strange in my mind.. _

_ Situation is serious.. _

_ Let's cure it 'cause we're running out of time.. _

_ Mm mm tell 'em Rick it's all so beautiful..” _

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

After the show, they all went out to a nearby bar to celebrate the great turnout. The crowd went absolutely  _ crazy _ when PK shouted in the mic, “Move aside, Chucky- let me know you how it's done.” when it was his turn for the ‘Billie Jean’ portion of the busted out his dance moves. With the crowd responding the way they did, it made it even ten times more fun to be up on stage doing what they all loved to do. 

 

“I’m surprised that you were able to hit those high notes with how out of breath you were from all your dancing and jumping around.”, Max chirped. He had only had a few beers at this point, not wanting to get too drunk to avoid the hangover tomorrow. The others had taken to moving on from just a couple beers to shots.

 

“Hey, if there is anything PK can do- it’s put on a  _ damn  _ good show.”, Carey stated, sliding a shot of fireball to him.

 

Max slid it back over to him, and PK exclaimed, “Oh come on Pacioretty, live a little!” 

 

“I’m good, besides one one of us has to be somewhat sober when he have to walk back to the hotel.”, he replied. He really was content on just enjoying his small buzz and watching everyone else make idiots out of themselves.

 

Just then, Alex came over with another round of shots, setting the glasses on the table. Loose limbs and careless attitude, he was laughing uncontrollably at something. Max just watched him with a smile. It was nice to see him sort of sloppy, for once, just enjoying himself. 

 

He felt an arm hook around his neck, Brendan came up behind him and was leaning in so their faces were an inch apart. Max patted his arm and tried to loosen Gally’s grip on him. Gally’s breath  _ reeked  _ of alcohol.

 

“Whatcha’m doin there, Maxxie? ‘M jus havin suuch a great time-y with you guyyss but ‘m don’ feelso good right now.”, the smaller man slurred.

 

He was now holding onto Max like he couldn't keep himself up. Max jolted back when Gally starting making gagging noises.

 

Brendan was a lightweight and if he was keeping up with the ammount everyone else was drinking, it was no wonder why he was so smashed.

 

“Alright, that’s enough for you.”, he decided when Gally tried to reach for the shot Max never drunk and whined when Max held it out of his reach. “Trust me, I’m doing you a favor.”

 

Max looked around for the others had snuck off to. He spotted a head of blond hair that belonged to Lars over at the pool table where he was with the three others. Max set Gally down in the booth they occupied, letting him slump over the table. “I’ll be right back, okay?” 

 

Brendan fought to lift his head up, groaning out, “I don’ feel very good right noww…”

 

“I know, I will be right back okay? Don't throw up.”

 

Max made his way to the pool tables and put his hand on the small of Lars’s back, “Hey, I need to take Gally back to the rooms, are you guys going to be okay getting back there?”

 

Lars turned his head to the other man, his cheeks stained pink from the alcohol and thought about it for a minute. “Mmm, you're leaving now, like right now?”

 

He nodded and softly added, “He’s starting to dry heave, I don't want him to throw up in here.”

 

Carey overheard their conversation tilted his head to the side, “Aww poor Gally, can’t handle his alcohol.”

 

“What, we have to leave because of him now?”, Alex piped in. PK seemed too busy rearranging the billiard balls in the letter  **‘P** ’.

 

“ _ No _ , Chucky. You guys can stay but I just want to make sure your gonna be okay walking back?”, Max said, looking at his boyfriend, hand now sliding around Lars’s waist to pull him closer.

 

“Mmmm-”, Lars hummed again. “I wanna go back with  _ you  _ though.”

 

“Yeah, my buzz is starting to die down a little.”, Carey admitted. 

 

Alex rolled his eyes, he was starting to sober up a little. “Well if you guys are going, then I guess I’ll go too. So much for staying out all night and getting drunk.”, he said looking pointly at Carey- who’s idea it was to go to the bar in the first place. 

 

Max turned to walk back so he could help Gally out the door. The air was oddly lukewarm for the season, but he was just glad it wasn't raining or anything because none of them at jackets. 

 

He ended up having to stop every few steps so Gally could bend at his waist to steady himself. 

Gally coughed a little too hard and all of a sudden, his body forced out all the contents that were in his stomach. Max stepped back to give him his space and waited for the others to catch up to them. 

 

A string of saliva hung from his lips, as Brendan straightened back up, hands on his hips trying to catch his breath. 

 

“You okay, man?”, Max asked. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

 

Gally let out another whine, his eyebrows furrowed but he didn't say anything.

 

When they arrived back at the hotel, Max pulled him towards the elevators and Brendan protested weakly, “No! Gotta take...the stairs..gotta..work those..legs out.”

 

Max just laughed and playfully told him to shut up. He retrieved the room key from Brendan’s front pocket and hurried the other man into the room. “Alright, now you can throw up as much as you need to.. I’ll get you some water.”, Max offered. He sat Brendan down on the bed rolled eyes as  kneeled down to take his shoes off when Gally held his feet up like he was expecting it.

 

“ _ Wow _ , I am such a good friend.”, he said. The door opened and in walked Alex, who had completely by sobered up now. He stood there and watched Max tend to Brendan. 

 

“Gally, you better now throw up on me in my sleep.”, he commented when Brendan started dry heaving again.

 

“Don't give him any ideas.”

 

Max stood up and sighed, “Well Chucky, he’s all yours.” He grinned and slapped him on his back while he was on his way out the door.

 

Alex watched him leave and turned back to Brendan with his hands on his hips when they were alone. Gally hiccupped with exhausted smile forming on his face.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Lars was already back in his room, when Max got back. He was laying flat on his back on top of the covers, his arms folded behind his head. His eyes were closed, but Max knew he was still awake. He moved closer to the bed and hovered over him, arms on either side of his head, to press a short couple kisses against his boyfriend's lips. Lars frowned when he tilted his head up for more and was ignored. Lately, Max seemed to be getting more and more comfortable with kissing and being affectionate in general. 

 

He wasn't stupid, he knew that Max was still trying to get used to the physical side of their relationship. Sure, they’d only been officially dating for two months but they had known each other for years now so it’s not like they were strangers or anything. He knew Max felt bad when he stopped their late night makeout sessions when it had gotten a little too heavy, but he couldn't help but feel frustrated with Max at times. Of course, he never let it show. It would kill Lars to see Max get his feelings hurt by that.

 

The past few nights though, something had changed. Max couldn't keep his hands off of Lars when they were alone, not that Lars was complaining or anything- it just took him by surprise.

 

“Look at me.”

 

He could feel Max still hovering over him so he peaked through his eyelids at him, the lights in the room were suddenly way too bright for him even though Max was blocking out most of it.

 

“Can you turn the lights off?”, he squinted. Max ignored him once again and continued staring at him affectionately. He looked to be deep in thought, but Lars couldn't tell what he was thinking about. 

 

He reached up and placed his hand around the back of Max’s neck, fingers running through his hair. “What is it?”, he asked.

 

Max studied his face for another second. “I love you”, he got out, unable to contain a nervous laugh.

 

“We haven’t said that to each other yet.”, Lars flashed a toothy grin.

 

“I’m saying it now, stupid.”, Max resorted.

 

Lars adjusted his head onto a pillow and used both hands to cradle Max’s face sweetly. “I love you too, Max.”

 

The two just smiled at each other, knowing that they had just said something very important to each other.

 

“That’s it, now I’m not letting you go anywhere. You're  _ mine _ .”, Lars stated, only half joking. Max chuckled and ducked his head down to nuzzle his face in Lars’s neck, placing kisses all over, stopping to leave marks with his teeth every few seconds.

 

He then climbed onto the bed, swinging his leg over Lars so he was straddling him. Then something in the air shifted. Max was looking at him seriously as he lifted his shirt up and over his head, letting Lars run his hands over his toned stomach. He let up for a minute while Lars then took his own shirt off. They proceeded to kiss, their mouths opening up for each other simultaneously, allowing their tongues to tangle up together messily.

 

After a few more minutes of making out, Max sat up straight and gazed at Lars with half lidded eyes. The other man watched as Max’s hands slide down to the waistband of his own pants and unbutton them. 

 

Lars met Max’s eyes, wanting to make sure this was what Max wanted. “Max, we don't ha-”

 

“It’s okay. I  _ swear _ , I want this just as much as you do.”, Max interrupted. Lars continued to watch as Max chucked his pants off and did the same for Lars. He then walked over to turn the lights off, but switched the small lamp sitting on the nightstand. 

 

Lars was able to see Max in the dim glow, the lamp provided. He stood up on his knees, still on the bed, meeting to where Max was standing. “I want you so bad.”, Lars panted in between kisses. Max made a noise of appreciation and hooked his fingers inside the other man’s briefs.

 

“Can I…”, Max started, pulling back so he could look at Lars properly. “Um, I don't think I’m ready to you know.. be on the bottom.”

 

Lars thought it was funny the way he mentioned that, he didn't expect him to want to bottom the first time they had sex, so it wasn’t a big deal to him at all. In fact, he think he preferred Max to fuck him, then the other way around.

 

Lars voiced his opinion and Max let out a relieved, shaky breath. Their lips met for one more passionate kiss and Max wrapped his arms around Lars, muttering how much he loved him one more time.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Meanwhile, Brendan was leaning over the toilet throwing up for the fourth time that night so far. Alex insisted the bathroom door be left open so he could see him in a perfect line of sight. “This is good, you're building your tolerance up for next time.”, he chirped from the bed where he was only half paying attention to the move that was playing on the TV. 

 

When Gally didn't answer, he turned his head to look at him in the bathroom. Brendan’s cheek was resting on the toilet seat but his head was facing away from Alex.

 

“Are you even still breathing?”, Alex tried again. He waited a few beats before getting up to check on the other man.

 

Alex could see the remaining of vomit sitting in the toilet bowl so he flushed it, regretting looking inside of it in the first place. He sighed and laid Brendan’s toothbrush near the sink for him and bent down to pick the sick man up. Gally winced and finally stood up, with Alex’s help. 

 

“Here, brush your teeth.”

 

Alex watched as Gally looked at himself in the mirror, honestly he looked like shit- his eyes were watery and red, skin flushed an unhealthy color and his lips so dry they looked like they were cracking painfully and for some painful reason, Alex still found him to be just as attractive as he always was.

 

He stood there, leaning back against the door with his arms crossed, waiting for Gally to finish.

 

Once his teeth were all brushed, Alex guided him onto the bed to lay down. “Just take it easy, alright?”, he said softly.

 

Gally laid there for a few more minutes before mustering up all his energy to gently smile at Alex. 

 

“Thanks for all this by the way.”

 

Alex went to turn the bathroom lights off and simply shrugged. “For what?”

 

“For taking care of me after Max left, I appreciate it. If I didn't know any better, I’d say you were actually  _ worried about me _ .”

 

Brendan watched as Alex then pulled out some sweats for Gally and pretended to be busy sorting out some clothes that were hazardly crumpled up in his bag. “That’s the alcohol talking still.”

 

“No, seriously.” Brendan sat up on his elbows, “Thanks-”

 

“-I hope you know that I really like being around you, I always have. But..I could always tell that you never liked me that much..and that's okay. I just want you to know that I have always considered you my friend- even if you don't, you know?”   
  


Alex stopped what he was doing and met Brendan’s eyes. He was obviously still a little drunk but he looked so small and sort of, well-  _ vulnerable _ . Alex felt a pang in his chest. 

 

“I never  _ not  _ liked you, Gally.”, Alex said. He couldn't ignore the overwhelming feeling of guilt and regret about how he’s acted towards Brendan in the past. Of course, he never wanted Gally to feel like Alex didn't like being around him and little did he know, it was  _ quite _ the opposite. 

 

“I..I’m sorry if I’ve made you like shit. I never meant it...I guess I just have a hard time expressing myself to some people.”, Alex murmured. He wasn't making eye contact with Brendan, but he could feel his eyes intently on him. He probably wasn't going to remember this tomorrow but he still chose his words carefully. 

 

Gally slowly got up from the bed, stumbling the slightest bit and walked over to where Alex was. Still staring him down, Brendan stood in front of him; so close that Alex could feel the heat his body was radiating.

 

He stood there until Alex side glanced him, and for a split second- he could have  _ sworn  _ Brendan was looking back and forth from his eyes and then down to his lips. Alex couldn't help but hold his breath when the other man moved just a  _ millimeter  _ closer, they were  _ so close _ . All he had to do was inch his face closer then their lips would meet. He thought about looking fully at him, but suddenly Brendan just reached past him to grab the sweats Alex took out earlier and went into the bathroom to change.

 

_ What just happened? _

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The next morning, they group all planned to meet up for breakfast at this buffet styled restaurant inside the hotel. Alex and Brendan were the first ones there, they found a table and waited for the others to show up. Brendan made a joke about how the tables were turned abou now  _ they _ were on time and Carey was the late one for once. Gally,  _ miraculously  _ showed no signs of being hungover or- making he was faking it. Alex smirked at that and thought about the moment they had last night, he sure as hell didn't plan on  _ ever  _ bringing it up- but he couldn't help but wonder if Brendan remembered it happening.

 

He went to go get them both something to drink and his own food. When he came back, the rest of the group finally arrived. 

 

“Gally. Look at these two- doesn't it seem like there’s something different about them?”, PK asked, waving his hand towards Lars and Max who were sitting next to each other across the table from PK and Brendan. Lars had his arm thrown across the back of Max’s chair, they both did have a sort of a-   _ glow _ about them. But it wasn't something that was terribly  _ unusual _ , Alex thought.

 

“For the last  _ time _ , PK. Nothing’s different!”, Max swatted at the back of his head as he walked past him to go get him and Lars some food. 

 

When Max was out of earshot, PK leaned in and prodded, “Did you guys have big fight and really great makeup sex, like how you see in movies?”

 

Lars leaned back in his chair, smiling and making a ‘my lips are sealed’ motion with his hand. Carey watched the two go back and forth, then tapped Gally on the shoulder to go with him to get their food.

 

“How you holding up today?”, Carey asked. 

 

“I don't actually feel that bad, but man- last night was crazy.”

 

“Of course you don't...what happened last night?”

 

Brendan looked around them cautiously to see if anyone was near enough to hear them. “Well aside from all the throwing up I did, Chucky was just acting really weird. And- _ don't laugh _ or anything but, we had this like moment thing and I  _ swear _ he was going to kiss me.”

 

Carey froze, not caring anymore about loading any more eggs onto his plate and looked at Gally as he continued, “I know it sounds crazy but it confused the hell out of me.”

 

“Oh my god.”, Carey uttered. 

 

“I  _ know _ ! And now I can't stop thinking about what would have happened if we actually did kiss!”, Brendan quietly exclaimed. 

 

Carey glanced over to their table, where everyone was now eating. He looked at Alex, who threw his hands up in an exasperated way, clearly engaged in whatever conversation they were all having.  _ Oh, if only he knew what we were talking about right now _ , he thought.

 

He focused his attention back to Gally, who was biting his nails. “Are you even  _ gay _ ?”, he implored.

 

“I don't know! Your like the only one who knows I’ve never really had a preference with that kind of stuff! Do you think I am?”

 

Carey forced himself to go back to acting normal, just in case one of the guys happened to look for them. He sighed, “Gally, I would have no way of knowing that. Can- can you see yourself actually kissing Alex and liking it?”

 

Brendan took a minute before answering. “I-.”, he stalled. “I’m finding myself looking at him in a completely different way today.”

 

_ Okay then. _

 

Carey had thought about telling Brendan about Alex’s feeling towards him but decided against it. What if Gally wanted to test things out, then realized he it wasn't for him? Alex would be heartbroken. He didn't want to see that happen. 

 

After getting the rest of their food, they headed back to the table. As they were walking back, Carey tried to imagine how Alex and Brendan would be as a couple. He imagined Gally trying to plant a sloppy kiss on Alex’s cheek and clinging onto him and Alex looking like a grumpy old man because they were in public and Alex _ didn't like PDA _ . It wasn't that hard to imagine though. 

 

“Oh, Gally! I keep forgetting to ask, how was your date with that girl- what was her name? The one from your class?”, Lars mentioned.

 

Brendan poked at the food on his plate, and shrugged, “Eh, it was okay.”, he said, trying not to bring much attention to it. 

 

PK elbowed him and winked suggestively, “So when’s the next date, huh? On a scale of one to ten, how hot is she?”

 

Carey glanced at Alex, who was looking away as if he was trying to tune everyone out but he knew the other man was listening to Gally. He was sitting next to PK so it wasn't hard to reach over and pinch his thigh  _ hard  _ to get him to shut up. 

 

“Ow, Carey! What are you pinching me for?”, PK questioned, announcing it to the table. 

 

“Yeah Carey, what are you pinching him for?”, Max chimed in with an amused tone to his voice.

 

That got Alex’s attention, he turned his head back to the group and was looking at Carey and PK. 

 

PK was looking at Carey, puzzled and Carey just looked around innocently like he didn't do anything. 

 

Brendan cleared his throat, “Actually, I don't think I’m gonna ask her out again. You know- she’s not really what I'm looking for.”

 

“Ah, not the one then? Come on Gally, get it together!”, Lars kidded.

 

Brendan just sunk in his seat for the remainder of breakfast. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

After they finished eating, they went to walk around downtown as a way to pass some time. When they were walking out of the breakfast place, Carey yanked on the back of PK shirt so he was forced to take a step back. 

 

“Hey man, this is a new shirt!”, he exclaimed, smoothing it back out with his hands. 

 

“I need to tell you something. It’s breaking news!”, Carey whisper-yelled. 

 

PK’s eyes lit up excitedly, “Tell me the breaking news!”

 

They started to walk a bit slower, until the four others were way ahead of them, not noticing that Carey and PK were hanging back. 

 

“Where do I start? So basically Brendan just told me that he and Chucky almost kissed last night and that it made him start thinking and now he really wants to kiss him and that he might be gay and that's why I was pinching you! You wouldn't shut up about that girl and-”

 

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold up. _ Gally and Chucky _ almost kissed last night?”, PK interrupted. 

 

“Yes! But do you get why I was pinching you-”

 

“And he’s now questioning his sexuality over it?”

“Mmmhm, but next time I pinch you like that, take a hin-”, Care tried again. He wanted PK to listen to what he was saying about the pinching.

 

“So are you proposing we tell Brendan about Alex? Or tell Chucky about Brendan? Should we fill the marrieds in about all this cause let’s face it- they really don't know shit.”, PK raspily joked.

 

Carey rolled his eyes at PK for interrupting him again. He looked ahead of them where Max and Gally were walking behind Lars and Alex, who were looking back at the two as if they were chirping something at them.

 

“I came  _ this _ to telling Brendan everything but I knew you would be pissed if you weren't involved in this so I waited to tell you first.”

 

PK stopped to re-tie his shoe and looked up at Carey, the sun glaring in his eyes. “You know Pricey. With everyone getting together and pining for each other, it only makes sense for- us”, he pointed back and forth between them. “- to start something up, no?”

 

Carey rolled his eyes with a smile on his face and shoved at him lightly, “PK shut up.”

 

They continued walking down the strip, throwing out wild scenarios on how this would all end up playing out, elbowing and pushing each other when they told a particular crazy story. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

They had an hour before they had to be at the festival for their last performance.  _ Tonight, they could win ten thousand dollars _ , Alex thought to himself. He was more anxious than anything, the song they were singing tonight was the ‘I’m Yours/ Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ compilation. This song was  _ all  _ Alex, he had all the lead vocals to himself so he was sitting back in his room, alone because Brendan was somewhere in the hotel doing god only knows what. 

 

“There's no need to complicate

Our time is short

This is our fate, I'm yours.

 

Someday I'll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far

Behind me”

 

He sang to himself, tapping his foot against the carpet. This was the part of the song he always messed up in practice, it was a lot harder that it seemed to be singing a majority of one song then all of a sudden transition to a completely different song. Alex sighed and reached for his phone to pull up the ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ song so he could listen to the real thing. Maybe that would help him get a better feel for it. 

 

He was in the middle of searching for it on the internet when he got a text.

 

_ ‘are you in your room?????’ _

 

It was from PK. Alex replied with a simple ‘yes’ and went back to searching for the song. Close to five minutes later, someone knocked on his door. He scowled at whoever was interrupting him and stalked over to the door, peeking through the peephole.  _ Of course _ . 

 

He unlocked the door and stepped aside so PK could come in. He looked deep in thought and made himself at home by kicking his shoes off and lounging in the armchair. 

 

“I was in the middle of something.”, Alex told him as a matter of factly.

 

“So listen,”, PK begun. “Let's say- hypothetically; someone who you've liked for a very long time, one day decides that they wanted to give it a go with you because they  _ think _ they might be into you too. What would you do?”

 

Alex rolled his eyes “I don't know PK, who have you liked for a long time that's trying to get with you?”

 

“No, no. Not me, but what would  **you** do? Hypothetically.”

 

“I guess just be happy there's a chance that person will feel the same way about you.”, he shrugged.

 

“Okay, interesting. And what if you got yourself all psyched up about it and it ended up not working out what that other person? And it got real weird, would you stop being friends with that other person?”, PK asked.

 

“ _ What _ ? I don't know, what are you even talking about, PK?”

 

The other man sat up straight and leaned forward, “Let's say you and the other person had a lot of other mutual friends, would you let the weirdness between you guys ruin all your other friendships?”

 

Alex squinted his eyes at PK, confused, “Okay, I have no idea what you're going on about. I need to go back to doing what I was doing, if you can leave..”, he opened the door with a sarcastically sweet smile on his face.

 

“Okay, okay nevermind about all that. I really have to tell you something!”

 

When Alex stood there still holding the door open for PK, he got up from the chair and shut it himself. “Okay, do you want the short version or the long versi-”

“Ugh, just tell me whatever it is you need to tell me already!”, Alex exclaimed, throwing his hands up, walking backwards until the back of his calves hit the end of the bed. He flopped down on it, the covers still bunched up from this morning.

 

“Gally is having a bit of a crisis and we think he might coming to a realization that he’s into you?”, PK said with a questioning tone. 

 

Alex sat up right back up and glared at PK, “ _ What?  _ Who’s “we”?”

 

“We, being Carey and I.”, before Alex could ask how Carey got sucked into all of this, he quickly added, “Gally said you two almost kissed the other night that it really confused him and he can't stop thinking about what would have happened if you really did kiss. And he sort of implied that he’s into you.”

 

Okay so that last part, PK made up- but with good intent. If he just said that Brendan wondered what it would have been liked to kiss him for real, he knew Alex would silently stew on that forever, and never actually confront Gally about it. 

 

Alex rubbed his hands over his face and quietly asked, “Did he really say all that?”

 

PK nodded, with a soft smile on his face. “Wait, Carey doesn't know about me, does he?”

 

“Alex, I swear I didn't tell him. He sort of figured it out on his own after you guys got in that fight…”

 

“Oh my god…”

 

“But, he doesn't  _ care _ , Chucky! It’s okay, no one cares about you being gay.”, PK assured, sitting down next to him, rubbing his back soothingly. “Hell, practically all of us are!”

 

“Are you  _ sure _ Brendan said all of that?”, he asked again. PK noded and Alex questioned, “What should I do? I can’t confront him, that would be too embarrassing. What if he changes his mind and it doesn't work out? What if things become awkward between us and it changes the dynamic with the group?”

 

“That’s what I was saying earlier..”, PK trailed off, shaking his head.  

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One hour later, they were all backstage at the festival, waiting for their turn to go on. They had been silently stewing since they got there because Alex was nowhere to be found.

 

Everything seemed to be fine after they had gotten back to the hotel after breakfast, and when it was time to start getting ready for the festival, Alex disappeared. After searching every inch of the hotel with no luck, they all had been calling and texting him several times each but still; no answer. 

 

They waited till the very last minutes before they absolutely had to leave for the festival, they knew they had to leave with or without Alex.

 

Carey had been a little annoyed with PK when he found out that he ran off without him to tell Alex about what he’d found out earlier at breakfast.  

 

“You were supposed to wait for me, you know. That’s why he ran off, because you probably freaked him out with all this.” he accused PK, quietly so Lars, who was sitting on the couch across from them staring at his phone wouldn't hear him.

 

“I  _ know  _ but it was probably better that it was just me, Alex got a bit flustered when I told him everything- but he seemed totally fine after I left!”

 

Just then, Gally and Max joined them on the couches. Brendan was looking a out of sorts, he gave Carey a sad smile when he noticed him staring. He could tell the other man had a lot on his mind and Gally still had no idea that Carey told PK and that PK broke the news to Alex.

 

Carey felt a little bad for rushing off so quickly to tell PK about what Brendan had told him in confidentiality.  “Anyone have any luck reaching him?”, Max asked, looking around backstage looking for any sign of Alex. They had twenty minutes before they were due on stage. If Alex didn't show up, Carey would have to fill in to lead. Since they would be shorthanded, Carey had to do double the work for vocals.

 

He shot another accusatory look to PK, who just slumped into the couch, guilty. Carey was just about to pull his phone out to call Alex, when he suddenly appeared in sight- his face was red and sweaty and he was breathing hard like he’d been running; his eyes focused solely on Brendan, whose head sat in his palm as he stared off into nothing not even paying attention to anyone. 

 

When he finally reached the couches they were all sitting at, Alex looked around at everyone who all stared back at him, not knowing what to say.

 

Alex went to stand in front of Brendan and waited until he noticed him standing there. Alex suddenly bent down in front of Gally and grabbed his chin and hesitantly bring their lips together in a rushed kiss before anyone could register what was actually happening. Brendan’s eyes were wide and his arms flailed a few times before he settled his hands on Alex’s shoulders, holding him there. Carey’s eyebrows raised up so high, he was pretty sure they blended in with the hair on his head. He looked at PK, who was smiling like a proud father and then over to Lars and Max who were absolutely  _ gawking  _ at them.

 

The two had sloppily kissed for a few more seconds, before Alex pulled away looking at Brendan  seriously,to watch his reaction. Gally’s eyes were still wide, but he’d formed the widest smile on his face before leaning in slowly on his own, bring a hand up to Alex’s neck and kissing him properly. 

 

When they broke away once more, Alex looked the happiest Carey had  _ ever  _ seen him.

 

“I’m so glad you didn't push me away.”, Chucky choked out, bringing his hand up to cover Brendan’s where it curved to fit the side of his neck. 

 

Gally seemed speechless, so Alex went on, “I’m tired of hiding, Gally. I have been wanting to do that since the day I met you.”

 

“I know you're confused about the other night-”, Alex said pointing back and forth between them. “- and this is all up to you, but I’m  _ here now _ , telling you that I want this. I want  _ you _ .”

 

It almost looked like Brendan was going to cry, with how overwhelmed he looked. The two started into each other's eyes for a few seconds longer and Brendan finally got out, “Okay, y-yeah. I want to try this out too, Chucky.”

 

They smiled at each other again, and tangled their fingers tightly together. 

 

Max sat forward so fast, he almost slide off the couch cushion. “Umm, could any of you three, tell me what just happened?”, he was looking at Carey and PK who were just sitting there grinning at the pair and at Lars, who had a  _ very  _ confused look on his face. 

 

“Oh yeah, we were going to tell you guys, but you know... we forgot.”, Carey said waving them off.

 

They were then just called on stage and  _ thank god _ , Alex showed up. They all stood up and started towards the entrance to the stage. Max was sneaking glances back at Brendan and Alex, and whispering to Lars, “ _ What the hell just happened?!”  _

 

Carey laughed at that and also glanced back at the new pair, they were walking side by side, Brendan practically bouncing with every step he took and Alex trying to stifle his smile.

 

“Okay, maybe you did do a good job, PK.”, he commented. 

 

“My plans always work out.  I’m telling you Carey, it’s me and you next baby.”, he teased. Carey once again, rolled his eyes and straightened himself out before they all stepped onto the stage. 

 

Once they were all situated to their microphones, Carey shot a glance at Alex who was already looking at him, they grinned and nodded at each other as a way of saying ‘hey nice job’ and ‘thanks’. 

 

Max started the count off and the stage lights turned on, bright and blinding like they always were and Carey sucked in breath.  _ This was it. _

 

**_Well you done done me and you bet I felt it_ **

**_I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted_ **

**_I fell right through the cracks_ **

**_And now I'm trying to get back_ **

**_Before the cool done run out_ **

**_I'll be giving it my bestest_ **

**_And nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention_ **

**_I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some_ **

 

**_But I won't hesitate no more, no more_ **

**_It cannot wait, I'm yours_ **

 

**_Well open up your mind and see like me_ **

**_Open up your plans and damn you're free_ **

**_Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love_ **

**_Listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing_ **

**_We're just one big family_ **

**_And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved loved loved loved loved_ **

 

**_So I won't hesitate no more, no more_ **

**_It cannot wait I'm sure_ **

**_There's no need to complicate_ **

**_Our time is short_ **

**_This is our fate, I'm yours_ **

 

**_Someday I'll wish upon a star_ **

**_And wake up where the clouds are far_ **

**_Behind me_ **

 

**_Somewhere over the rainbow_ **

**_Bluebirds fly_ **

**_Birds fly over the rainbow_ **

**_Why then, oh why can't I?_ **

 

**_I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror_ **

**_And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer_ **

**_But my breath fogged up the glass_ **

**_And so I drew a new face and laughed_ **

**_I guess what I'm saying is there ain't no better reason_ **

**_To rid yourself of vanity and just go with the seasons_ **

**_It's what we aim to do_ **

**_Our name is our virtue_ **

 

**_But I won't hesitate no more, no more_ **

**_It cannot wait, I'm yours_ **

 

**_Please don’t please don’t please don’t_ **

**_There's no need to complicate_ **

**_Our time is short_ **

**_This is our fate, I'm yours_ **

 

**Author's Note:**

> Again, please let me know if there are any mistakes/typos! I'm thinking of doing a small sequel to this story, so if you would like to see that, feel free to let me know.


End file.
